Chapter 908: When the Opportunity Truly Comes Before You, Don't

"Wei Shihao scores!"

In the instant of the goal, Wei Shihao stood frozen in front of the net; only after snapping out of it did he suddenly shout and shove past Bai Xiong Shengshi as he sprinted away.

"Waaa!!!"

He jumped up and swung his right fist outward, as if trying to tear off his shirt, but Zhang Yuning grabbed him from the side.

"Awesome!"

"Awesome, Brother Wei!"

"Holy shit, that's amazing!"

Chinese team players quickly gathered together, even several substitutes rushed out from the bench.

This was the 19th-minute goal of the first half.

Considering this was the final, this timing of the goal was truly excellent for the Chinese team.

They now held the advantage in this match!

"Holy shit, Brother Wei, you finally stood up!"

"Good thing he didn't put too much force into it—I feel if Wei Shihao had powered it harder, the ball might not have gone in."

"Hahaha, this is the distribution ability of my Tang Ball King!"

Where is Takizawa Lola? Tell me what good you are! Keep cheering for Japan!

"66666 big advantage, this is flying, Japan is done."

"Nice, Brother Wei."

Tang Ye placed his hand on Wei Shihao’s head and ruffled his teammate’s hair: "Awesome!"

"Haha, damn!"

Seeing a camera in the sky moving toward him, Wei Shihao extended one finger, emphasizing his goal achievement to the fans watching on TV.

1:0!

After the restart, Moriyama became visibly anxious: he quickly scribbled something on his notebook, then began shouting instructions to the players on the field.

Japan’s defenders had already done a fairly good job marking Tang Ye, but they were still relying on outdated tactics.

My Tang Ball King comes up with a new idea on the spot—wouldn’t you explode?

"Wei Shihao!"

"Wei Shihao!"

"Wei Shihao!"

"..."

"Set piece, give it out!"

"Zhang Yuning!"

"Japan’s clearance comes from Fujimiya Ken'yo!"

"Still a bit short—China’s front line has few good headers; Jiang Guangtai’s position isn’t ideal..."

At the 29th minute of the first half, the away fans erupted in cheers; the camera panned over to reveal Misao Kaoru warming up.

Misao Kaoru, Japan’s rising star, carries the hopes of many Japanese fans!

He’s warming up now—clearly Moriyama plans to bring him on in the second half!

"Ganbatte, Misao-san!"

"Through ball, give it!"

"Endo Kō’s timing is excellent!"

"Wu Xi and Zhu Chenjie won’t make it in time!"

Endo Kō sent a precise through ball to Maeda Daisuke; Japan immediately pressed the Chinese defense across the entire field.

Now only Jiang Guangtai and Zhang Linpeng stood in front; Maeda Daisuke had many options.

Ueda Kise, originally in the center, suddenly cut to the left flank to receive Maeda Daisuke’s pass.

"Close him down!"

Yan Junling warned, but Zhang Linpeng hesitated—he felt he might be too late.

Ueda Kise received the ball, feinted and turned in one fluid motion, then delivered a long pass to the weak side where Doi Ritsu waited.

"Oh!!"

"Beeeeee!!"

"Don’t give him space! Don’t give him space!"

"Take him down! Take him down!"

Thwack!

Doi Ritsu faked a move and executed a between-the-legs dribble past Wang Shenchao.

Oh no!

Realizing the danger, Wang Shenchao could only pull down the opponent.

Yellow card: Wang Shenchao (CHN).

"Oh!"

"That yellow card!"

"Full-backs are crucial for China."

"With that yellow card, Wang Shenchao won’t be able to make big moves anymore."

Although the attack was stopped, several Japanese players visibly cheered upon seeing Wang Shenchao’s yellow card, exchanging encouraging words in Japanese.

"Japan’s free kick opportunity goes to captain Endo Kō."

"Position isn’t ideal—this one should be crossed."

Beep!

The whistle blew; Endo Kō and the Chinese wall moved almost simultaneously.

Thwack!

The cross came in.

Inside the box!

Thud!

Fujimiya Ken'yo headed it powerfully—it struck the left post and bounced out.

"Watch the ball! Watch the ball!"

Yan Junling shouted; the next second, Morikawa Hideki appeared from nowhere and fired a shot.

!

Yan Junling reacted instinctively by sitting down—but his outstretched arms and calves failed to block the ball.

Goal!

"Damn!"

Escribá punched the air: "You didn’t see that giant man?"

"Damn!"

This was clearly a massive defensive blunder by China’s defenders.

They used man-marking on the set piece—if it’s man-marking, why did Morikawa Hideki suddenly break free?

Simple: one of China’s defenders lost his mark!

"Nice, Morikawa-san!"

Live update: Set-piece attack, Fujimiya Ken'yo headed off the post, Morikawa Hideki tapped in the rebound.

If Wang Dalei were in goal, he’d already be yelling at his teammates; Yan Junling stayed slightly calmer, but after his anger, he still demanded an explanation: "Pay attention! My view was blocked—I couldn’t recover!"

Away fans waved their Japanese flags.

Because there were so few of them, their voices were too faint to hear.

The camera zoomed in and then enlarged; TV viewers finally saw the small tifo the Japanese fans had arranged.

Ride the wind, cut through the waves—Japan defeats its strong opponent. Below the Japanese text were written the names of several key Japanese players.

Most offensive of all: sharp-eyed fans noticed a roasted suckling pig on the tifo. The pig was fully cooked, its eyes shaped like "xx."

Riding the wind and cutting through waves to defeat a strong opponent? Fine.

But what’s the roasted suckling pig?

How arrogant is this?

At the 35th minute, CCTV gave the possession percentage for the second time.

CHN: 39%.

JPN: 61%.

The field situation seemed to favor China, because Chinese players had higher offensive efficiency.

Yet in possession percentage, China was genuinely behind—and even further behind than at the 15-minute mark.

Although Moriyama devised a special tactic to counter China, his core belief in possession-based football remained unchanged; Japan still relied on frequent passing to create chances.

Live update: 37th minute, Tang Ye’s long-range shot was barely saved by Suzuki Ayane at the limit of his reach; score remains 1:1.

"Beeeeee!!"

"Booo!!"

The scene was extremely noisy, because the Japanese team’s defense had improved dramatically, causing some Chinese fans to grow anxious.

Don’t let Japan drag the 1-1 score into halftime!

“Come on!”